This invention relates to viewing recorded television programming in a portable device.
Today, television programming is typically viewed on a television set that receives programming that is broadcast over the air from local television stations, or distributed over a cable or satellite-based television network to an in-home terminal such as a “cable box” (also known as a set-top box or a home communication terminal, HCT) that is connected to the viewer's television set. Portable television sets are available for receiving and viewing programming as it is broadcast from local television stations.
Television programming can be recorded on a video tape recorder for later viewing. The most common type of recorder uses VHS tape cartridges. Portable players for recorded VHS tapes are available, for example, integrated with television sets. However, such integrated units are typically large, heavy and not portable, although some players are available for use in cars. In addition to recording television programming on VHS tapes, users can buy or rent prerecorded VHS tapes, for example, with movies recorded on them. DVDs (Digital Video Disks, Digital Versatile Disks) are becoming more popular than VHS for prerecorded movies and programming, and relatively small but expensive portable DVD players are available. As in-home recorders for DVDs become available it is expected that recordable DVDs will begin to replace VHS tapes as a common type of recordable medium. Television programming can also be recorded on an internal storage device in a digital recorder (also known as a Personal Video Recorder, PVR) in the home for later viewing.
Recording and viewing of television programming using the approaches and devices described above either makes use of relatively large and heavy equipment, such as a VHS tape player and a portable television set, or uses expensive equipment such as an in-home DVD recorder and a portable DVD player.